Chaka! Through the Fire

By Tonya Bolden and Chaka Khan

Book Overview

Rolling Stone compared it to melted caramel, and Miles Davis compared it to his horn. Chaka Khan's scorchingly soulful voice first dazzled most of us back in 1974 with Rufus and "Tell Me Something Good," and most recently in her Grammy Award-winning performance in Standing in the Shadows of Motown , singing "What's Going On?" with the Funk Brothers. Over the years, she's had twelve number-one hits and nine number-one albums. Over one hundred appearances on the Billboard charts. Nineteen Grammy nominations and eight Grammy wins. Her achievements in the music industry are legendary, and like her twenty albums, they're well-known to the public. But the private side of Chaka, the story of what fame and fortune have cost her-- and taught her-- hasn't been told before. In Chaka Through the Fire , Chaka Khan gives us the whole story of the woman behind the diva and reveals her high and low points. A happy early childhood in a loving, creative home was shattered by escalating fights between her parents. When they finally split, Chaka's father disappeared without even a goodbye, leaving Chaka bewildered, bereft, and blaming her mother. She reconnected with her dad in her teens, finding that he was as liberal and permissive a parent as her mother was strict. Chaka started experimenting with drugs and joined the Black Panthers. Soon after, she fronted for a band called Rufus. They hit it big with "Tell Me Something Good," and Chaka's stardom was launched. But life on the road was grueling, and as the years went by, the pressures grew. Chaka turned to alcohol and drugs to numb the pain of failed relationships, the guilt of leaving her kids to be raised by Grandma, the resentment she felt about the exhausting demands of her career. It wasn't until things got very bad that she started to see the patterns. All the things she had suffered through in her childhood and swore never to do to her kids-- well, she was doing them. That's when she began the work of turning it all around. These days, she's still a musical powerhouse, but she's making sure there's time for family, too. She's drug-free. She's started her own record label and has also started a foundation to help women and children in need. Remarkably, Chaka has remained a true wild child despite all the changes: a fiercely independent woman who never compromised her spirit.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579548261
• ISBN13: 9781579548261
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Every fan should read this book

Growing up listening to Chaka Khan's music and already having a sense of understanding about her, made this quite the enjoyable read! Every fan should read this book and then share it with anyone who would like to see how a sister triumphed over the harsh reality of the ghetto, drug abuse and the entertainment industry. This autobiography shapes Sister Khan's life in a positive, truthful way. I read this and at times, would catch myself looking at her pictures, listening to some of her favorite songs and then acutally crying, because our music would not be the same without her. It felt good knowing that after all that she had been through, she is still here and we can still experience her gift through the sampling of new artists and by dusting off an old album or CD. I have a new found respect for Sister Khan after reading this book and would recommend that everyone read it as well. This is the perfect book club novel, full of great discussion points and filled with many great lessons in life. An excellent novel, to say the least.Rene ReyesMBC/2004

I feel for this Book, and you will too!

Really enjoyed this read. it's the rare diva that writes a truly reflective, truthful memoir with inclusion of thier triumphs and mistakes. Ms. Khan comes across as comical in this book as she does in person. It is absolutely amazing that through all the abuse she has inflicted on hrself, she still possesses a pair of the best pipes in the business and is going as strong as she did in the beginning of her career. It is also so heartwarming that her family is so supportive and that she has made amends with her children and extended relatives. I adore her to pieces and I hope that voice continues to soar for another fifty years. Great read.

Memoirs Of A Wild Child

The year 2003 marks the 30th anniversary of music icon Chaka Khan's recording career. In celebration of this milestone , Chaka has written a deeply moving autobiography, one that (like the singer) will evoke many emotions. Chaka, a woman who's influence can rival that of any modern day musical institution (ie: Aretha, Miles, Joni and Billie), is the youngest link in the chain of the... "last of the great singers". Chaka!Through The Fire takes you on an emotional rollercoaster ride as the gifted singer recounts her colorful childhood, rocky teens and (even rockier) adulthood. Hers is a gripping story of struggle,turmoil, strength and finally redemption. Chaka's recollections are candid and brutally honest as they are witty. I found myself laughing, crying and "feeling" for her. I thought I knew her story, but this book opened my eyes to a great many things. Behind the beautiful face (one of the most incredible smiles ever), talent and humility was a highly intelligent yet troubled superstar. Which proves that money can't buy you happiness. In fact it can ruin you, as it almost did with Chaka. This book gives deeper insight into one of the most important female artist of all time. A GREAT read!

Papillion (aka Hot Butterfly)

Though the book name is Chaka! "Through the Fire", Ms. Khan shows that she can go through the fire, shed the traces of her former selves and spread her wings and soar like the Hot Butterfly that she is. As stated by previous reviewers this is a very honest and heartfelt review of the ups and downs, and turn arounds of a artists who is royalty in the world of music. Ms. Khan traces her interesting, but turbulent childhood and teens years as a black panther, through her initial rise to fame with Funk Legends Rufus, and her forray into a successful solo career. Behind the glitz and glamour Chaka shares in details her many addictions to drugs and the many insecure men she has had in her life. Throughout all of this Chaka was able to eventually find herself, self love and innerpeace. This book is very inspiring and Chaka's narrative reads like a movie script. You feel like she's sitting in the roon with you as you read it. I say this is a Must Have, and you'll walk away very inspired. As the old cliche's go Chaka proves that she is "A woman, a Backbone, and it's all in her".

Through the Fire & Into The Light

This memoir of Chaka Khan's life is a must-read. This brilliant piece of work titles each chapter with the title of one of Ms. Khan's songs. Excerpts of the lyrics in the book serve as a kind of icing on what's going on in each chapter. It's a very intelligent book, touching on world/social events while at the same time applying that era to her personal ups and downs. Chaka is very frank in the book. She's basically "keeping it real". It's sheer honesty, sometimes brutal, sometimes shocking, sometimes inspiring. Chaka leaves no rock unturned. And yes, the drug use is in the book. I felt privileged to have this look into this legend's exciting life and I'm a better, more knowledgable person because of it. It's about hope, despite the circumstances. Get it, you won't be disappointed.